AI vs influencers: Proof of an airhead digital future

Isn’t it just priceless that social media influencers – the very epitome of everything which is shallow and fake – should now be threatened by the advent of artificial intelligence (AI)?

Influencers have done immeasurable damage to genuine reporting and reviewing because many of them are paid to write about products rather than to assess them in an impartial way.

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The ad companies love them because they believe – mistakenly in many cases – that these people have almost magical power to influence the purchase decisions of ordinary consumers.

As we report today, most influencers are so vacuous and plastic that clever computer button-pushers, working with AI programs, can build their own.

“The advantages lie in unparalleled creative control, allowing seamless decision-making on image, fashion and aesthetics without the need for physical photoshoots,” according to Sofia Novales, project manager at The Clueless, an agency in Spain.

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Her agency has created Aitana Lopez, who has more than 300 000 followers on Instagram, where she is described as a “gamer at heart” and “fitness lover”.

Apart from feeling little sympathy for influencers who have made money while offering little of real value to the world, we see this as more proof of our airhead digital future.